Amid rising global crude oil prices, India has put forward its position to the US, saying that the sanction imposed by the country on Iran imports will weigh on India, and hence Washington must ensure that the move should not hurt India’s economy.

In first ever 2+2 dialogue, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo discussed the issue of oil imports from Iran.

Amid rising global crude oil prices, India has put forward its position to the United States, saying that the sanction imposed by the country on Iran imports will weigh on India, and hence Washington must ensure that the move should not hurt India’s economy. “We told them that we are an energy reliant country, and candidly told them that rapid reduction of oil imports from Iran will impact our economy. We said that our economy should not be impacted by your policies,” Indian Express reported a source as saying. Interestingly, the US has told India that it is not in Washington’s interest to damage the Indian economy , in the first ever 2+2 dialogue between the two prominent world economies. As the US has walked out of the nuclear deal with Iran, it wants all countries to cut oil imports to nil by early November 2019.

To this, the US side replied they “fully understand”, and added that it is “our policy”, but “it is not in our interest to damage your economy,” the government source told the Indian Express. The reply came even as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo discussed the issue of oil imports from Iran.

“We have told the Indians consistently, as we have told every nation, that on November 4th the sanctions with respect to Iranian crude oil will be enforced, and that we will consider waivers where appropriate, but that it is our expectation that the purchases of Iranian crude oil will go to zero from every country, or sanctions will be imposed. So we’ll work with the Indians. We committed that we would do that. Many countries are in a place where they — it takes a little bit of time to unwind, and we’ll work with them, I am sure, to find an outcome that makes sense,” Pompeo told in his address.

Explaining the purpose behind the sanction, Pompeo said that US wants to make sure that Iran doesn’t engage in malign behaviour with wealth that comes from countries around the world. India has already told them it is going to buy oil and gas from the US.